Hydrogen can be produced from many different sources in different ways to use as a fuel. The two most common methods for producing hydrogen are steam-methane reforming and electrolysis (splitting water with electricity). Researchers are exploring other hydrogen production methods, or pathways.
Using a renewable source, hydrogen could be produced by electrolysis, biohydrogen, thermochemical cycles, photocatalysis, and plasmolysis. Amongst hydrogen production technologies, electrolysis contributes the highest 4% of
As at the end of 2021, almost 47% of the global hydrogen production is from natural gas, 27% from coal, 22% from oil (as a by-product) and only around 4% comes from electrolysis. Electricity had a global average renewable share of about 33% in 2021, which means that only about 1% of global hydrogen output is produced with renewable energy.
Hydrogen production. Hydrogen can be extracted from fossil fuels and biomass, from water, or from a mix of both. Natural gas is currently the primary source of hydrogen production, accounting for around three quarters of the annual global dedicated hydrogen production of around 70 million tonnes.
Hydrogen can be produced through low-carbon pathways using diverse, domestic resources—including fossil fuels, such as natural gas and coal, coupled with carbon capture and storage; through splitting of water using nuclear energy and renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro-electric power; and from biomass through
Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of domestic resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.
Hydrogen production from natural gas and heavier hydrocarbons is achieved by partial oxidation. A fuel-air or fuel-oxygen mixture is partially combusted, resulting in a hydrogen- and carbon monoxide-rich syngas.
By 2050, blue hydrogen production could require as much as around 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas (between 10 and 15 percent of global natural gas demand in the Further Acceleration scenario), and capacity to capture and store 750 to 1,000 megatons of CO 2.
Dedicated hydrogen production today is primarily based on fossil fuel technologies, with around a sixth of the global hydrogen supply coming from "by-product" hydrogen, mainly in the petrochemical industry.
There are several pathways to produce hydrogen: Natural Gas Reforming/Gasification: Synthesis gas—a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and a small amount of carbon dioxide—is created by reacting natural gas with high-temperature steam. The carbon monoxide is reacted with water to produce additional hydrogen.